Appointed Acosta — Who Gave Epstein the Sweetheart Plea Deal — as Labor Secretary
Trump made Alexander Acosta his Labor Secretary — the same prosecutor who gave Epstein a "completely unprecedented" deal: immunity from federal charges, 13 months in jail with daily work release, and secret immunity for all co-conspirators.
In 2007-2008, U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta negotiated a non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein that was described by the Miami Herald as "completely unprecedented." Despite FBI evidence identifying at least 36 underage victims, Epstein was allowed to plead guilty to two state prostitution charges instead of federal sex trafficking.
The deal was extraordinary in its leniency:
- Epstein received a 13-month sentence (of an 18-month plea) with work release allowing him to leave jail up to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week
- The agreement granted immunity from all federal criminal charges
- It also granted immunity to four named co-conspirators AND any unnamed "potential co-conspirators" — a clause widely seen as protecting Epstein's powerful associates
- Prosecutors agreed not to notify Epstein's victims about the deal, which was filed under seal. A federal judge later ruled this violated the Crime Victims' Rights Act.
Trump then appointed Acosta as Secretary of Labor in January 2017 — rewarding the man who ensured Epstein faced minimal consequences. The DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility later found Acosta showed "poor judgment" in the deal.
Acosta resigned in July 2019 after Epstein's re-arrest on new federal charges brought renewed scrutiny to the deal.